Mile High
by georgia D. rose
Summary: Rose is a flight attendant. How did she end up like that? When she was drugged back to St. Vladimir's by Dimitri, she was sent away to New York and was separated from Lissa, to finish her education and become a guardian. But after two years of being a successful and fairly famous guardian, both she and her charge were captured and only she survived. FULL SUMMARY INSIDE..
1. Chapter 1

Rose is a flight attendant. How did she end up like that? When she was drugged back to St. Vladimir's by Dimitri, she was immediately sent away to New York and was separated from Lissa, to finish her education and become a guardian. But, after two years of being a successful and fairly famous guardian, both she and her charge were captured. Her charge was killed during an attempt to escape. Rose also tried to escape with the difference that she survived. Then, thinking her life was basically over, she started working as a flight attendant. Was she right though? Was her life truly over?

**P.s.** MUST READ THIS. Some stuff you need to know to understand the story. Rose doesn't have a bond with Lissa because she didn't die on the car accident. Dimitri is Christian's guardian and friend and Christian doesn't know Lissa. Lissa stayed at St. Vladimir's as an English teacher with her two guardians after her graduation. She started taking antidepressant pills owing to Rose's absence so the things that happened to her because of spirit in the first book never took place. Also the massive Strigoi attack (3rd book) hasn't occured.

**P.s.2. I own nothing!**

So, here's my banner bunny story and first story I have ever written. I don't have any help from anyone so please don't kill me for my awful English. Enjoy and...… review! ;)

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**Chapter 1: Fate surely has its ways…!**

The alarm woke me up at 7.30 am as usual. I groaned and threw my hand on top of it to stop that annoying beep. An image of me throwing it on the wall briefly crossed my mind but I pushed it away. I still needed it. I opened my eyes then and stood up to go to the window for a few minutes before getting ready for work. I always did that… The sunset, a way for humans to know that their day was over and for us to know that our day began, calmed me somehow. Its unique colours gave the illusion of a burning earth and a rainbow at the same time. They were bloody red, deep orange and pale pink. That magical view made me forget all about problems. It gave me power and courage to continue with my life and the hope that one day I would be this calm all day and night not just a few minutes. However, until that moment came there was job to be done. I half heartedly moved away from the window and went to bathroom to get ready for work.

"Rose, they're here. They are only two this time, Christian Ozera and his guardian, Dimitri Belikov. Go greet them, show the Dhampir his seat and get the Moroi to the feeders before showing him his seat as well. I was told he needs to feed first." _Dimitri Belikov? Where have I heard that name before? It sounds familiar… Maybe his face will remind me something…_ I ignored it for the moment and concentrated on the task at hand. Oh, that was my friend and also flight attendant, Veronica. We had been working together here for 1 year. She already worked here when I came. We started talking during a flight and became friends in an instant. I admired her for her patience and kindness. She always served the passengers I felt like hitting right in the face for the way they looked and talked to me and she treated them so nice. She kind of reminded me of my best friend Lissa, whom I had missed terribly the past few years, even though their appearances weren't alike at all. Veronica's hair was long, straight and black, her eyes big and a beautiful shade of sky blue and her lips were two semi thin lines with the bottom lip slightly bigger than the other.

"Ok I'm going." I told her and opened the plane's door to let the ladder fall.

"Good morning Mr. Ozera, Guardian Belikov" I nodded to both of them. With a small glimpse so that Belikov wouldn't be alert because of me, I noticed their appearances. Ozera was thin and pale like all Morois. But what caught my attention were his blue eyes. They weren't like Veronica's though, they were deep, dark blue. After him, my eye caught a glimpse of the guardian too. My first reaction was to freak out a little by the intensity in his eyes when he looked at me. I wondered why until I realized who he was. It was HIM! The one who stole my life, my dreams, my best friend away from me! He was the one who captured me and Lissa 4 years ago and drugged us back to St. Vladimir's. I was so angry right now, the adrenaline rushing through my veins and my heart pumping more than when I was about to fight Strigois. I wanted to lounge at him and kill him with my bare hands and his body stance told me he knew it. But I hadn't moved yet. The only change on me was the fact that my hands were transformed into deadly fists and my teeth were clenched. I saw his hand move towards the Moroi. That move brought me out of my bubble. I wasn't acting rational. I immediately relaxed my body and stood up straight before Ozera saw too much. All of this had happened in a matter of seconds. I resisted the urge to even look at him and turned my body to the Moroi's and talked to him with a strained voice so that I wouldn't growl at him. Morois come first.

"Mr. Ozera follow me. I'm going to take you to the feeders and then we will be ready to leave." I could see he knew something was wrong and narrowed his eyes to both of us before answering me.

"Yes, thank you." I walked him to the feeder's room and opened the door for him. I nodded him to enter and closed the door once he was inside. Afterwards, I went back at the entrance to walk Belikov to his seat. I kept my face and mind as blank as possible in efforts of controlling myself. I was on the edge, I felt it. If I thought anything about him I would lose it and kill him on the spot. I reached the doorway and kept a distance as I looked at him. I couldn't help but glare.

"Follow me guardian Belikov." I informed him. I had only removed my eyes off of him before he talked to me.

"Rose-" He stopped mid sentence when my eyes shot back at his. Couldn't I be superman just once so that I could burn him with my eyes? _Only my friends call me Rose. Stick it to your head before I do it for you._ "Guardian Hathaway" he corrected himself, his accent thick. His eyes showed hesitation.

"As you can see guardian Belikov, I started before he could continue, I'm not a guardian anymore. So I would like you to call me Ms. Hathaway if you don't mind of course." My voice was full of sarcasm and anger and I wasn't going to hold for long, especially if he wanted to talk to me. I decided to stop it for his own good. I put my guardian mask on and interrupted him once again. "Now, follow me or else we will go back on schedule." An emotion crossed his face but he covered it with his own guardian mask sooner than I had the chance to identify it.

"Show the way Ms. Hathaway." He agreed and raised his hand toward the inside of the plane as a gesture for me to go first. I would be first anyway. Are you afraid of having me behind you? I spun around on my heels and led him to his seat.

"Would you like me to bring you anything?" I offered him as my training as a flight attendant kicked in.

"A glass of water would be nice, thank you." His face showed nothing so I couldn't tell if he was just mocking me and enjoying the fact that I was basically his servant for the next 10 hours. I nodded and headed off to the feeder's room first to take the Moroi to his seat as well. I slightly opened the door and peeped in to see if he was done. He was whipping his mouth and the feeder's neck, who had laid back with a goofy grin and closed eyes, seeing that a few drops had slipped. Nausea hit me in no time with the sight. I opened the door nonetheless and made sure to make some noise in order to be noticed.

"Oh, hello there miss. I just fed thank you." Ozera informed me.

I nodded. "Are you ready to go to your seat Mr. Ozera?" I politely asked with a fake smile and raising my eyebrows.

"Please call me Christian. It looks like we're on the same age anyway." He said with a half grin. "And yes, I'm ready to go." My smile became a little more real. I had heard many rumors about the Ozeras being impolite, introverted and 'about to become Strigois anytime'. He looked like the exact opposite though.

"Rose Hathaway" I said and raised my hand to shake his. He lifted one of his eyebrows and we shook hands.

"As in, the famous Rose Hathaway, daughter of Janine? Honestly, it's my pleasure to meet you. I've heard so many things about you." Wow… I'm having a conversation with a male and he's not hitting on me! This was my type. I would definitely hang out with him had the circumstances been different. The way he told me those little, two sentences showed how wicked he really was.

"Why don't we walk while we talk?" I said and continued without waiting for an answer. "And what might these things would be exactly?" I saw he was taking it easy with the walking so I slowed down.

"We have a lot of time to talk about that. Now, tell me. Where do you and my friend Dimitri know each other?" I tensed as soon as I heard his name.

"We don't. We had met once at St. Vladimir's that's all." Which technically wasn't a lie. He snickered at that.

"Yeah, that's all. It didn't look that way to me. And I'm very observant if I want to." He playfully narrowed his eyes to me on the last part. Maybe he was my type a little too much. Especially on the stubbornness part… I had to answer though because he would probably not forget it and I was stuck with him for many hours to come.

"I wasn't careful so I literally run into him and nearly caused us to fall. It was embarrassing." I said the latter in a tone that said 'this talk is over' while looking at him directly in the eyes. Thankfully, he got the message and that conversation officially ended. At that moment we had reached the front of the plane. I went serious again as I showed Christian his seat next to Belikov and gave Belikov the glass of water he requested for.

"Here you are." I told him and gave it to him. Even I could hear the coldness in my voice as soon as I addressed him.

"Thank you." He said. His body though told me in on a secret. He was on defense. That was the emotion I couldn't identify sooner too. He knew he was in trouble big time. It felt nice to know so. I could even take advantage of it if I wanted to. After I 'politely' waved him off I went to the kitchen.

I drunk two glasses of water and steadied myself on the sink before collapsing from the numerous feelings that hit me again since I was avoiding them. How could he appear in front of me after destroying my whole life? And talk to me! How dare he do that to me? HOW? He made me suffer for everyday of my life. Every day I woke up and knew that my dreams hadn't come true and it was his fault. Every time I saw my charge, I was reminded of that once again. Every time I needed help with something she wasn't there. Because of him. I had sworn to myself that if I ever saw him or Kirova, I would smash them to pieces with my bare hands. They made me suffer! They couldn't protect Lissa from those things she was followed by. And when I did it for them I was SENT AWAY! No way I'm gonna leave it this way.

Suddenly I heard glass breaking and falling on the ground and in the sink. I looked down narrow eyed and realized that I had been holding the glass in my hands the whole time and that I had broken it. A few drops of blood fell on the ground beginning from my fist but I didn't open it since I couldn't feel any pain. I punched the wall in front of the sink as an attempt to release some more of the tension. Maybe I could imagine it was Belikov. I smiled deviously at that thought…

"Fucking perfectly great!" I semi whispered semi shouted through my teeth.

Dimitri's POV (Just a small part. I want you to see Rose through someone a little more objective)

"Here you are." At least now, she's not angry like previously. On the other hand though she was very good regarding her self control. Especially in comparison with the last time I had seen her. I was afraid of moving or even talking right now. Maybe she would snap. But no. Earlier, when she was ready to attack, the moment she noticed Christian again she controlled herself immediately.

"Thank you." I finally answered before anyone noticed my hesitation. Before she gestured me and turned away though, I caught a glimpse of a wry smile. What was it about? I didn't want to think about it.

We fastened our seatbelts on and the plane took off.

"D, what happened?" Christian didn't wait a second more. "Why is she like this when she's around you? I asked her too but I'm sure she was lying. That's no reason for a look like that! Seriously, I've seen you fight and I know the wicked skills you have but with her as your opponent… I suggest you make friends with her." This was the day he chose to be observant. Truth to be told, I had heard the rumors of how deadly she could be if she wanted to and I had never thought the possibility of her being able to defeat me. I guess I was stuck to that girl who tripped when I slightly pushed her to avoid her attack. But now, seeing her like that certainly made me think about that possibility a little bit more. But then again why would she be a flight attendant? Wait a second. Did Christian just say he talked to her?

"You talked to her?" I tried to sound as indifferent as possible although he would figure it out. It was 'the sharp-eyed Christian' day.

"Yeah… I asked her if you two know each other or something and she said _'we had met once at St. Vladimir's that's all'_. I didn't believe her and I pressured her to tell me in a roundabout way." As far as I'm concerned he stopped at that point in order to annoy even further.

"And what did she answer?" He grinned at my question, obviously expecting it and with a prepared answer. Maybe he had rehearsed it too.

"She told me she had fallen on you and that she had nearly knocked you down. And that it was _embarrassing_." He rolled his eyes as he said that. Why didn't she say the truth? Maybe she didn't want to think of it. I had thought millions of times the effect this change would have on her life. Who knows…

All of the sudden, we heard smashing behind us. Both of us looked behind us and I went alert. I stood up and walked slowly, measuring each footstep and checking my surroundings. Christian was following me. As I was about to call Rose's name to check if she was okay we heard swearing and a loud thump, followed by three more even louder. It was in the kitchen. I ran in there with all my speed. Out of the blue, my stomach was twisting and I was worried sick for her. We reached the doorway and I stopped dead on my tracks and just gazed toward the scene in front of me. Broken glasses were everywhere on the floor and the sink where Rose was standing, some of them with blood and water as well. The wall had a little blood too. A few strands had escaped Rose's ponytail and had fallen on her forehead and eyes. Her face was a mixture of complete and pure anger along with a face I had seen once more in my life and had thought of it a thousand times. That face was the one of desperation. Her mouth was turned into a twisted smile that showed everything but happiness, her body looked solid as a wall, I was actually afraid she might hurt her muscles, and her left hand… it was nearly soaked with blood up until her elbow. I wondered where all that blood had come from. Her knuckles were bloody too, probably the reason for the wall to have blood too, but the most blood came from her palm. _Why? What happened?_ Then, it clicked. Rose had smashed a glass with water in it with her bare hand. The amount of blood told me that she had put all of her strength. Christian suddenly touched my back, most likely to hold himself from falling due to the shock. That simple contact though awoke me and I started moving.

"Rose… what happened to you?" I said as I stepped forward. She turned around and faced me.

"_You!_" she pointed at me with her left hand's finger, causing more blood and glass to appear. "Stay away from me!" she threatened. I felt like this was a déjà vou but ignored it and concentrated on her moves. I pushed Christian further back with my right hand and then tried to calm her down. I raised my hands showing that I meant good and tried to sooth her down. But she wanted none of that. She lounged at me with a speed and force that I had never seen before_. __Oh boy… Here we go…_

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**_What do you think? Are you impatient? Hope so because that's what i want...! :P  
PLEAASEE_ review_ to tell me your opinion and how to make my writing better..! _**


	2. Chapter 2

**i know i was late but here it is. the second chapter for the banner bunny contest. Also i don't know when i'm going to be able to upload the next one. maybe i won't have the time until the deadline. but i will continue it...!**

**Disclaimer: i own nothing :(**

**Enjoy :)**

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**Chapter 2: Rainbow**

This was what I called a proper fight. Like Christian had said earlier, she was someone I'd better have as a friend not an enemy. Her proficiency was easily detected despite the lack of space and therefore the lack of available moves. I was on defense and was trying not to hurt her. But it was much more difficult than the last time. Back then she was inexperienced and under the effect of endorphins. Now, she was angry, skillful and unstoppable.

At her first attempt to get a hold of me she went for the 'obvious kill'. She lounged at me and I pushed her the exact same way I had had the last time we had a fight making the déjà vou feeling more intense. Then, her body posture told me she was going for the same move so I prepared myself but just as I was about to make contact with her shoulders she made a last second change and punched me with all her power on my cheekbone. I made a few steps back surprised, something I certainly shouldn't have done due to the fact that she took advantage of it and carried on with a series of a direct punches and a low kick on my stomach. Her eyes glimpsed for the millisecond of the millisecond between my legs. _Oh shit. Oh NO, I'm not going through that pain never again. _I had once been hit there accidentally a few months ago by Christian and to say I was in pain was the least. Let's just say I was the biggest threat for him. I shifted just for an inch or two making her miss her target.

After 1 more minute of fighting I started having the upper hand. Then out of nowhere, when I had almost gripped her hands behind her and had finally brought this fight to an end, the airplane started shaking uncontrollably. I strove to hold on to something so that I wouldn't fall but luck was against me. I fell on Rose and even though she tried to cope with the combination of my weight, height and the quivering plane, she eventually collapsed.

I put my elbows on either side of her head on the floor and was about to roll off of her when I looked into her eyes. _Big _mistake. The admiration that I had been secretly feeling for both her character and strong beliefs and her appearance - well it was more like attraction for the latter – came back on surface once I gazed in her stunning brown eyes. The atmosphere changed right away. The tension was still there but it wasn't caused by anger. It was another feeling just as strong but not as lethal. It was desire. Her face expression was also changed. She was looking at me with a mild shock and another look I couldn't figure out.

Her eyes were slightly narrowed and almost burning, taking in my face and half smiling as she did so. First she observed my eyes and I felt her breath trembling while it hit my face. After that she proceeded to my nose and brought her right hand up to stroke my cheek with her hand. Next both her eyes and fingers went on to my lips, and that's when she stopped breathing altogether though I didn't think she knew it. Her eyes had a sparkle and were dazzling me mercilessly while her fingers were caressing my bottom lip. It felt like we were on fire with all these feelings fighting to dominate. I gently dug my hand in her silky brown hair that I had longed to see again for so long, slightly lifting her head in the process. Our lips were an inch away, noses already touching. I was ready to take what I wante - no, needed…

All of a sudden the plane began shaking violently all over again. Fear overpowered everything else on her face and she rapidly began to struggle under my body. The current situation was forcefully brought back to my memory as I tried to keep her unmoving.

"Stop it! Can I at least know what's gotten in to you to make you want to_ kill_ me?" Sure, I knew the reason already but I assumed that unless she discussed about it she would never get over it and I would never get the chance to explain myself.

"Get off me damn it! Something's wrong with the plane don't you understand?" How did that thought slip my mind? I had Christian in here too and I had forgotten everything including his safety. _Rose. You're gonna be the death of me I swear._

I quickly stood up and raised my hand to help her get up as well. Once she was up she started running towards the back of the plane.

"Rose I think the cockpit is at the front of the plane." Why would she go to the back of it?

"Veronica hasn't showed up. She's the second flight attendant. I think something happened to her." she hastily explained since she saw I was confused. The worried look she gave me melted my heart and I would do anything to keep it away.

"You go check things with the pilots. I'll go search for Veronica" My mouth worked faster than my mind. The authority in my voice was obvious and she was irritated but complied anyway. She ran behind me this time and shouted something about Christian. I hadn't forgotten him this time though. I turned around to look at him. Despite the shock you could easily see, his face was smug beyond repair.

"At least you now know how embarrassing it is to knock someone down by accident." I rolled my eyes at the comment. Her excuse was exactly what had just happened with just a small inversion.

"Save it for later Chris, we have work to do now." I had really hoped he hadn't seen us. I was sure he was going to tease me pitilessly. _Maybe he'll forget it_. Nah… I always was unlucky, why change now?

"Don't worry lover boy I would save it for later even if you hadn't told me to." He winked. _God help me live this through._

I ran full speed and Christian was unable to keep up with me but I didn't slow down nonetheless.

"Veronica. Where are you? Can you hear us?" We would shout from time to time.

"I believe Rose's instincts are right. If she was okay she would have answered by now, don't you think?" Christian suggested and he was right. I just prayed that she wasn't dead. Rose seemed to be very attached to her and I'd hate to see her broken again.

"Help" I heard a distressed female voice ring to my ears. I abruptly stopped walking and Chris hit my back before he had a chance to stop too.

"D, watch your step." He complained.

"Shhh. Didn't you hear someone call for help? I thought you had better hearing than me." Sometimes I couldn't understand him at all… I opened the curtain next to me. The room was a mess but no one was in here.

"Where are you?" I yelled, opening the curtain beside the previous one. This room had two differences than the last one. The first one was that it was much messier and secondly a black haired girl was in the furthest corner of the room trapped from the numerous fallen selves. The girl looked weak and scared to death.

"Don't worry I'll get you out of here okay, Veronica?" I soothed her.

"Okay. Please hurry up. Something is wrong with the airplane. I have to go check the pilots as soon as possible." She said in one breath.

"It's alright, Rose is already there I'm sure nothing's wrong. Are you hurt?" Christian said before starting to lift one by one the shelves, with me, to put them out of the way.

"I think I'm alright. My shoulder hurts like hell though." She couldn't help the whimper that escaped her lips when she touched it.

"We're almost done here. There. Give me your hand now. Step on that one. Good. See? Easy and fast." I gave her the directions to come out while I held her not injured hand so that she wouldn't trip.

"Thank you. How did you know I was here?" She lifted one eyebrow in confusion.

"Rose was worried about you and was planning to come for you herself but we offered to come instead" I explained her. _We don't have time for this. I need to know what's wrong! _"Anyway, I thought you said you wanted to go to the pilots…?" It started as a statement but she was hurt and looked so exhausted that I wasn't so sure what to do next.

"I prefer to go to the pilots if you don't mind. My hand doesn't hurt so much." She lied but I let her think I believed her. Despite the soothing words we used between us and to ourselves, I was worried sick about the situation. I didn't want Christian to die today. I was determined to save him no matter what. Besides, she didn't look like she would faint if her shoulder waited for a few minutes… Did she?

"Alright. However, if you feel dizzy or your shoulder gets worse you must tell me, ok? Promise me." I preferred not to feel guilty for her death the rest of my life.

"Aha. I promise. Let's move now." She ordered.

We soon were at the cockpit. The first thing I noticed was an annoying, constant beep that rang through the whole room. I was terrified for the reason it did that. The rest was like the movies. Two seats were placed in the middle of the room, machines and buttons laid everywhere and behind the co-pilot's seat a tiny chair was sat by Rose. With her right hand's elbow on her knee, her palm on her forehead and her left hand hidden to her lap she supported herself. She looked stressed but also relaxed. It ensured me that we wouldn't be crashing anytime soon but she didn't look that well either and I knew I was the one to blame. I was about to ask what had happened previously but decided against it. Veronica would do it for me and she would actually be able to help if needed.

"What the hell happened a few minutes ago?" I knew I count on Veronica. That were the exact words I would have used. Rose's head shot up and her eyes glimpsed to my direction before going to Veronica's.

"It's ok. A pigeon messed with the wheels and we were unable to lift them. I'm afraid we will have to land." The pilot officer informed us.

"Are we able to fly with that problem sir?" It was rare for Christian to talk like all royals did. His voice was deep, his face blank. I looked at him in confusion. I knew he wasn't fond of having his plans changed but why would he insist?

"Yes Mr. Ozera we are." The pilot looked afraid of Chris. He was round-shouldered and his hands, the only skin I could see, were slightly sweaty.

"Then we will fly to St. Vladimir's Academy and land there to fix whatever the problem is. Am I understood?" Wow… I think I have been I bad influence for him.

"Of course Mr. Ozera. All understood." I saw Christian's mouth pull upwards for the slightest bit before answering in a cold 'thank you'.

My eyes seemed to have a mind of their own just like my mouth lately so they involuntary went toward Rose's direction. She was staring off space and was totally shocked. _What now? I didn't say anything this time and she looked alright, well as much as she could, when I came in. _I replayed the conversation in my mind to try and realize what had made her like that again. Then it hit me! St. Vladimir's. She didn't know where we were heading. Poor Rose… Now she was forced to deal with the greater heartbreak. I hoped we would be able to talk while we would be in the plane in order to help her if I could and to probably sort things out concerning us. _Ahhh… I like the way 'us' sounds… maybe I'll get the chance to say it out loud sometime. _

The silence was almost uncomfortable. You could hear a pin drop. For some reason, Chris and I hadn't moved from the moment he had taken care of the flight matter (5 minutes). Rose was still staring at the floor but not round-eyed, Veronica was bending down to the pilots' chairs looking at something and the pilots were doing their jobs as usual. The annoying beeping had stopped a little while ago and everything seemed peaceful for a moment. Like the days after a strong storm, when the rainbow was out, free for everybody to admire. Then, out of nowhere, I heard something splash. The noise was faint but I had still heard it. I turned my head towards the sound. Rose was no longer staring. She was looking at her hand now. _Rose_? Oh shit! The girls were injured and I had forgotten all about it! I was such an asshole sometimes.

"Girls, why don't you come with me please?" My perfect guardian mask took over for me making me sound completely indifferent. They jumped at the sound of my voice probably scared since they didn't expect it.

"You're right" Veronica chimed in with me. "Rose, come with us." She added leaning toward Rose's now crouched figure. I contemplated asking Rose why she was afraid but stopped myself when I thought what her answer and reaction would be, especially in here. _Then again, it might not be fear_. _Maybe it is_… pain. _I'll have to check her hand as soon as possible. _

They walked with us till we were at our seats, Rose behind all of us and Veronica in front of us and were ready to leave again when I interrupted their actions.

"Where do you think you're going?" I asked, annoyed especially with Veronica given that she had promised to let me take care of her arm and had tried to sneak out either way.

"To the kitchen...?" Rose was confused by my sudden outburst. Veronica though appeared to know the reason behind it.

"I'll get the first aid box." She said knowingly. Rose stared to the both of us in a what-are-you-2-up-to-? way. I also thought I saw some fear as well but it probably was my imagination.

"Bring a bowl with water and some towels too if you don't mind. Christian will help you; you can't carry all of that on your own." I told her. I was worried about her shoulder, the looks of her when we had found her weren't soothing and neither was that whimper she had let out. And Rose needed extra care too. Somehow I was sure she had already lost too much blood for my likings.

"I'll help her, you don't have to stand up Christ-"

"No." I interrupted again before she walked away, grabbing her right wrist in the process. She didn't turn her body, only her head, to glare to her captured hand and then me. That was when I noticed something. From the moment she had stood up in the cockpit, I hadn't caught sight neither from her left hand nor the rest of her. She was hiding the entire time. I narrowed my eyes at her and tried to hide the results of my frantic thoughts from my eyes.

"Rose, turn around." She didn't move at all. _Stubborn woman, I'm worried about you don't you get it? _

"Now Rose. I don't have the patience to play right now." I think I wasn't very good at hiding my anxiety because when I said that her eyes widened and then she turned around with her head hanging.

It was my turn to go wide-eyed. Her blouse was soaked with blood which stopped just below her chest. Her hand was clenched across her stomach so that the blood wouldn't fall on the floor and her fingers were closed to form a fist. Blood was running to the inside of her hand till her elbow.

"Oh no, Rose!" I barely whispered. I had caused that. My presence had caused this reaction. I was going to ask for forgiveness as soon as I was done with helping her. Speaking of that, where was Christian and Veronica?

"Sit beside me Rose." She didn't hesitate this time. She took Christian's seat and continued looking intently the floor. I would have thought there was something really interesting about the floor if she wasn't playing with her fingers, showing me her anxiety. Wondering why? Me too…

Just then the guys came in and both of them gazed towards Rose's stomach with their eyes ready to pop out.

"Wh- What happ-" Veronica couldn't even complete her sentence.

"Hey, guys, snap out of it. I need your help. Christian, give me the towels and keep the bowl in front of me. Veronica, I'm sorry. I'll check on you the minute I'm done with Rose ok?" Rose shot Veronica a confused and worried look.

"I'm ok Rose. You'll have some explanation to do later though." She threatened her. Rose looked… embarrassed? Something like that, but quickly covered it up with a tiny smile that didn't reach her eyes.

"Sure thing Velly."

I started taking care of Rose's hand. I carefully touched it as if it was the most fragile thing in the world. I told Rose to give it to me and to open her fingers. She did so and I finally found the reason there was so much blood. There were glasses all over it. It was like reddish, big, sharp knives had dug into the finest silk and had destroyed it beyond repair. I took her hand into mine. One of my hands held hers gently from the outside of her palm and the other started working. I pulled the glasses one by one fast and carefully counting them at the same time and she winced to every single one of them. They were 6. As it was expected, the blood starting flowing again. I hurriedly put the towel on it until it stopped and I removed the towel. After that, I took a clean one, got it wet and started cleaning her hand. I stretched her fingers and softly touched them with the towel. The blood was still fresh so it was easily removed.

"Christian you can leave if you can't handle it" I told him and didn't even hear his answer as I was too distracted by the hand I had in my own, a dream coming true. But it seemed to be ok with him since he didn't leave. I didn't bother telling Veronica the same as she was a Dhampir.

I turned her hand upside down to clean it there too and took I little more time than usual. I then proceeded to clean her wrist up until her elbow. I did it as slowly as possible, not wanting the contact to end. The hardest part to clean was the wounds themselves. Despite the small amount of the dried blood, which needed more than a touch to go, she would also be in more pain.

"Rose, this will hurt a little ok?" I warned her so that she would be prepared. "I'm sorry." I said in the most sincere, genuine way, showing with my face just how much I meant it and that it wasn't just for the pain on her hand. I felt her hand shiver while she stared in my eyes… I hoped it was a good sign.

I concentrated to her hand once again and started wiping it. She winced again a few times and even tried to pull her hand away as a reflex but I always kept her still.

"Please try to avoid moving. You're making it hard for me to be gentle with you and you're going to be in more pain." I pleaded her.

"Consider it done." She answered in a strong voice. From then on, she neither moved nor winced until I had her hand in bandage. The whole process took approximately 15 minutes. I held her hand with both my gaze and hands for 5 to 10 seconds more before I let go.

"You'd better change clothes Rose. You give the impression of a woman coming back from war." Christian snickered as a successful attempt to lighten up the mood. We all sniggered and Rose answered as if she was 17 years old again.

"Perfect. That way, _little boys_" she emphasized that looking pointedly at him "will be afraid to bother me. Isn't that great?" She exclaimed in fake enthusiasm. At that, we all laughed and Veronica said 'ouch' somewhere in the middle. It seemed that the vibration from the laughter had caused her pain. I stopped laughing to finally help Veronica as I had told her.

"Veronica come sit next to me. It's your turn now." I nodded to Christian's seat.

"Ok, thanks." She said shyly. Thank God, her shoulder was cracked, not fractured after all. I tied her shoulder tight but not too tight and made sure it wouldn't move because it would cause the numb to be replaced by pain again. After 10 minutes we were done.

Finally, Christian and I got to stay alone. I was so happy that I could stay alone with my thoughts to comprehend all the things that happened to me today. How my day was twisted from a boringly usual day to the most… Well, that 'most' was what I wanted to understand. Because, at that time, it didn't make sense to me at all.

"So…" _Oh shit _"alone at last. I think you forgot to tell me something about yourself when we first met, don't you think?" He playfully winked at me.

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**i hope that i'm allowed to swear (i'm talking about the rating)**

**Anyway, REVIEW! :)**


	3. AN READ PLEASE

**A/N: First of all I want to apologize because this is not an update but you MUST read this.. **

**I want to say to you that I am terribly sorry for not updating all these months! As I had initially told you, this story was for a banner bunny contest I took part in… My intentions were and still are that I would continue this story once the contest was over and I would be allowed to update with getting myself disqualified. **

**Unfortunately, when the contest had began, started deleting numerous stories; I am sure that most of you if not all had noticed. Along with the stories deleted was the story of one of the competitors and the contest's creator gave her time to re-write the story, which delayed the contest. Long story short, many things happened which delayed me, the incident I mentioned being one of them. **

**Of course I'm not trying to accuse anyone or not take the blame.. I just thought I should let you know that I am VERY sorry and secondly that I am going to continue the story no matter what!**

**Thank you for reading both my story and my note..! **

**Oh, why don't you check out my other story too? It's called Fighting To Home and I guarantee that there is going to be action.**

**Bb! **


	4. Chapter 3

**I am so extremely sorry for not updating for months! But I promised you that I was going to continue it, so here I am.. I just want to say that if you have given up on this story by now, I understand completely and if you haven't, well thank you for not..! :) I'm sending you millions of hugs and kisses and a bunch of cookies too.. :P****  
**

**REALLY IMPORTANT PM below the story. Please read it..  
**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing! Ask Rose..!****  
**

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**Chapter 3: **

"_So…" Oh shit "alone at last. I think you forgot to tell me something about yourself when we first met, don't you think?" He playfully winked at me._

"Now, why would you say that?" Sarcasm laced my every word before getting more serious.

"Christian, please. We are going to talk and you can tease me as much as you want but right now… I need some time to myself. Ok?" He could see that I needed some time alone so he answered like the friend I knew him to be.

"Sure. But don't you think you are getting away. It is almost 10 hours away till you can get rid of me…!" I snorted at that. Yes, Chris had answered the exact way I expected him to.

I let out a deep breath. I still couldn't realize what had happened today. I rested my head on the cold, round, square window and chose to think things over from the beginning.

I wasn't surprised she had attacked me. From the moment she was sent away by Kirova I had started thinking about her. I had thought of how courageous she was that she had even tried to defend Vasilisa the night we captured them since she was under the effect of the endorphins and outnumbered. I had admired her for standing up to Kirova, for keeping her emotions in check (she kind of reminded me myself at that) when she had said goodbye to Vasilisa and had hugged her, how strong her beliefs were and how dedicated she was when it came to protecting the Moroi.

I had also thought that she would of course blame me for all of that given that I was the one who had brought her back to the academy in the first place.

And last but not least, I had thought of how affected she would have been by leaving behind the one person she was ever attached to (according to her file) and all the dreams she had made for her life. So I really wasn't surprised that she had reacted that way when she saw me. The thing I was surprised with was that she had so much more control of herself. I honestly, didn't know what I would have done if the situation was reversed.

Next issue on the to-think-about list was the moment our fight had ended. The proximity had numbed my mind and I couldn't think straight – my body had done it for me during that minute. Cause, besides everything else, I always thought of how attractive she was.

I didn't want to, I felt sickened by myself that I'd think of that wonderful woman like that but I couldn't help being a man, therefore couldn't help but imagine the feeling of her lips on mine and the feeling of her body against mine. I felt like a pervert, that I was somehow intruding her privacy. I was never like that; I had never done things like that, but with her... I felt that many things were yet to change.

But why had she responded…?

Well for now, I needed to consider what I could do to make peace with her. She couldn't hate me for her whole life just because I brought her back to the Academy. I was following orders. She needed to listen to me. How would I manage that though? The conclusion was that I would have to wait until I had the chance. There was nothing else I could think of doing.

After thinking about all of that, I suddenly felt exhausted and in need of some rest.

I focused on the view out of the window and was in awe of it. The clouds had a wonderful shade of colors because of the sunrise and it calmed me so much. As I continued gazing out of the window I felt my eyes heavy and drifted into a restless sleep, something I was used to nowadays.

I woke up to someone nudging me. I opened my eyes, instantly fully awake and alert and turned my head to the person who had elbowed me who sure enough, was Christian. I looked at him with a irritated look. He nodded towards somebody who was standing in front of us. It was the girl that we had been looking for after the plane incident. What was her name again…? Oh that's right, Veronica.

"How long have I been sleeping?" I asked.

"For an hour and a half, I think." Christian answered after looking at his watch. _That's why I feel like I slept for less than a minute _I thought while rubbing my eyes.

"You don't have to stand up, nothing's wrong." The second flight attendant, Veronica, said raising her eyebrows. "I wanted to offer a pillow or to take you to a comfortable bed, which is more suitable for sleeping. I'm sorry, to have woken you up." Oh,

"No thank you, Ms. I don't think I'll be sleeping anymore." I nodded to her so that she could feel free to go.

She nodded too and was about to leave when Christian stopped her.

"How can we call you if we need you?" He asked her and I raised an eyebrow at him.

"If you press this button" she showed him a round, red button at the side of his seat "I will hear it through this" she showed him a small, black box on her belt which looked like a tiny walkie talkie, or a huge earpiece. He thanked her and she left after that. Then, he turned to me.

"I hate to repeat myself so you can start whenever you want." He told me seriously.

I signed. He was truthful with me from the beginning and he didn't deserve any less than _the truth _despite the stupid things he often did. I took a deep breath before starting.

"Six years ago Rosemarie Hathaway and Princess Vasilissa Dragomir escaped from St. Vladimir's Academy. No one could track them until two years later. Kirova sent me and a few more guardians to bring them back."

"Yeah, I remember that old bitch. She could be heard everywhere in the academy if she shouted. Until all of the students made a plan to complain to her that she disturbed us and we couldn't _concentrate on our studies_. We never heard her again. Haha…" He laughed at the memory and I half-smiled. She had put soundproof walls.

"Interrupt me again and I'll stop." I warned him. He stopped.

"So, at some point, she signed me to find the girls and gave me approximately 12 guardians and an overloaded file with her and Vasilissa's name on the outside. In that file, there were info for her whole life. We wasted no time and started searching for her. We found their hiding-place in two weeks and watched them during the night from the window. They tried escaping but failed.

When I brought her back Kirova was so mad that she expelled Rose and if I hadn't talked to her Rose would have been left in the streets to basically die either because of cold or Strigois instead of going to another academy." I couldn't stand thinking the alternative Rose had shouted in Kirova's office that day.

"And that's the reason she reacted like that when she saw you. She blames you for being away from Vasilissa and not being her guardian, right?" I looked at Christian startled because I hadn't said anything out loud for that topic. He saw my confusion and answered my silent question.

"I graduated from that school, remember? Rose was the most famous person in there. She'd always stand up for Lissa if anyone messed with her. They were joined by the hip. Everyone, including them, had for granted that Rose would be Vasilissa's guardian. She had the rumor of the most wanted girlfriend and she was badass as hell." He smiled most likely remembering something.

"So that's why Lissa started anti-depressant pills once she was back… She always sat alone in classes and lunch you know, and the first week she was back she was locked up in her room. It had come to my ears that she would either cry or sleep that first week." I flinched at his words. I felt so guilty back then, and now, feeling I had caused that. That was what had made me think that something similar had happened to Rose with no one to be with her. That was when I started to think about her and never stopped since.

"I forgot to tell you something!" he exclaimed suddenly.

"What?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

Then, Rose appeared out of thin air.

"You called me?" she asked in her usual, neutral voice. I glanced at Christian.

"Yes I did Rose. Why don't you sit with us?" Chris replied. "If you don't mind of course." He added in the last moment before she could say anything.

"I don't think that's included in my job description." She said, her voice still like she was bored out of her mind

"Please." Christian said while looking at her. I couldn't see what was the look in Chris's eyes but a few seconds of looking at him, she sighed.

"Fine." Was her only reply before she escorted us to the nearest couch to get comfortable. Being on a plane just for royal Morois surely had its advantages.

"So Rose, you really don't remember me?" She looked at him curiously.

"Should I?" She asked, raising both of her eyebrows.

"Well, we did go to the same school for many years." He smiled and raised an eyebrow.

"Sorry, no. Your face doesn't ring a bell." She seemed like she didn't really care.

"It's ok. I forgive you… for now." He tried looking serious and deadly but he reminded me more of a clown I had once seen when I was 8 years old. Rose's mouth twisted into a smile before she glared back. Christian's face changed a bit before he fully relaxed and admitted losing the 'glare contest' as he put it.

"Tell us about yourself Rose." He said at one point.

"There's nothing interesting about me." She said solemnly. "It is simple. I went to St. Vladimir's when I was almost a baby. I went to school there except for the last year which I finished at New York's Academy. My charge died 1 and a half year ago and I've been a flight attendant since."

"And you said you weren't interesting. How did your charge die?" Her eyes snapped back to Christian's with a sudden intensity in them. I, of course, wanted to smack Christian behind his head for asking that. I knew how hard it was for a guardian to lose his charge. I had been through that myself.

"Strigoi." She was short and to the point. I hoped he wouldn't push for details.

"Yeah, duh, but what happened?" I had the urge to smack my forehead with my palm. And then maybe punch him. Rose's face didn't change.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" She raised her eyebrows and took an evil look on her face.

After a minute of awkward silence Rose stood up.

"I've got a job to do."

**Rose's POV (Earlier)**

When Dimitri took care of my hand, I went to change clothes. I had my suitcase at the back of the plane. We would unfortunately stay _there _for a week. In the meanwhile, my mind couldn't shut up.

For four years I had been holding grudges against the mighty Dimitri Belikov for sending me away from St. Vladimir's academy. But then he decided to appear at my job and complicate the life I had been trying to simplify.

The times he looked at me I couldn't see nothing that looked like smugness or wickedness. And when he took care of my hand, he seemed like he was really worried.

And honestly, I still hated him with all of my being!

But- ohh… _Those _seconds. When we fell and he was upon me, I couldn't think straight. Heck, I don't think I was thinking at all.

I remembered thinking the day me and Lissa were captured that he was hot and that had I met him at another place in another time I would have hit on him. That was the reason I reacted like that when I felt _every _inch of his body pressed against mine, the reason my insides clenched, the reason I wanted to hump him right then and there. His god like body and face features pulled the horny woman out of me because let's face it; I'm a woman that hasn't had any adventures for quite some time.

I shook my head and tried to clear my head of any current thoughts and headed to the kitchen.

"Velly! Why didn't you call me to help you with all of this?" I almost shouted at her once I saw that she was cleaning the mess I had caused on my breakdown.

"It's ok Rose. Don't freak out. What happened in here anyway?" She looked at me expectedly with narrowed eyes. I signed and began explaining while I helped her with the cleaning.

"Do you remember when I told you about that guardian who had captured me and Lissa? The one that brought us back and…?" I couldn't complete the sentence. That day was the beginning of the end for me. And the ending came soon.

She stopped what she was doing and nodded with confusion coloring her eyes. I stopped as well and turned my body toward hers.

"Well, Christian Ozera's guardian, Dimitri Belikov, is that man." Her eyes widened and she stared at me in disbelief.

"You're kidding me right?"

"Do I look like I'm kidding?" Understanding flushed in her eyes and she hugged me while she was rubbing my back soothingly.

"Oh my… Rose. This must be so hard for you." She knew me quite well. And then, it hit me.

We're going at St. Vladimir's. I stiffened and pulled back.

"What?" she asked, not knowing what to expect.

"We're going at St. Vlads.!" She looked down, hiding her eyes from me. I pulled back even more and narrowed my eyes at her.

"You knew didn't you?"

"Yes I did but Rose let me explain." She rushed before I made a sound, which I was about to do. "I was afraid that if you knew, you wouldn't come. But you have to because…"

"Because what?" I was worried sick but I put on a façade.

"Because I heard a few months ago that Princess Dragomir was there. Maybe you can get leads on her current location. Please don't hate me?" She looked at me with puppy eyes.

"How would I hate you when firstly you give me that look and secondly since your intentions were good?" I gave her a smile and hugged her again.

"Ahhh, the puppy look. Always works..!" We laughed a little and then a felt my hip vibrating. Either I was laughing _that _hard or someone was calling me. I sighed. Damn work. But I needed this if I was interested on taking care of my ass on my own.

I almost crawled to their seats. The bastards had ruined my happy bubble with Velly dearest just a minute ago.

"You called me?" I asked. I wasn't even in the mood of studying them. A fatal mistake for a guardian.

"Yes I did Rose. Why don't you sit with us?" Ozera replied. "If you don't mind of course." He added when I was about to curse my way out of his proposal.

_Hell no! No way am I sitting with that asshole in the same room for more than a minute. I bet he made you ask me to stay so he can see me in my work clothes and laugh at how low I got. _That was what I wanted to say. But I didn't. I was extremely polite. You'd think I really wanted to sit with them but couldn't.

"I don't think that's included in my job description." I said instead, and simply kept my face as it was before.

"Please." Dearest Ozera spoke again. _What do you want? I said "No fucking _way_!" _The glint in his eyes though told me he was up to something. My curiosity got the better of me and I needed to find out more about them if I wanted to crush Belikov inside out.

"Fine." Was my simple reply.

After trying to sneak into my past and private life Christian shut it enough so I could go away. I couldn't believe that I didn't understand his intentions from the beginning. The only ones who didn't hit on me were the gays, the happily married and the mature ones. Not that I was bragging, it's just the facts. He was obviously none of the three so he was up to something. I didn't know how I knew it but I did.

Christian Ozera was up to no good and I was determined to find out what he wanted. I needed some adrenaline flowing through my veins these days anyway.

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**What do you think? Am I improving? Am I not? I want your honest opinion in order to become so please review and tell your REAL opinion..!**

**I hope I made it up to you with this big chapter for all of the time I didn't update anything.  
**

**So, in my country, school began today and it's an important year so I don't know how soon I'm gonnaupdate again, but it won't be that long again, I promise. Maybe I'll update smaller chapters but I will anyway...! :)  
**

**Also, check out the stories of a fellow Greek writer, Toniiia.. She is great, trust me! :)  
**

**GREEKS ROCK!  
**


	5. Chapter 4

**Hello my dearies! I'm very sorry that I didn't get to update sooner but like I told you before, with school this year, I am very, VERY busy.**

**As I had informed you, I am going to update as soon as I can, even if it is a little smaller than expected.. Better than nothing though.. **

**Read the A/N on the bottom of this chappy please.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but my ideas in this story.**

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**Chapter 4**

"Please put your seatbelts on and prepare to land" the pilot's voice was heard from the speakers. _Don't freak out. Don't freak out. Please just don't freak out!_

After 10 hours we had reached St. Vladimir's Academy and I was freaking out. _Not. _Even though I would never admit it, I was afraid of going back. The memories that were likely to come back to my mind would be painful. And I didn't want that.

When Lissa and I were little, 7 to be exact, we were making plans for our future together in this school.

_Flashback._

_We were sitting on one of the benches outside and were laughing at a kid who had just tripped a few feet away._

"_Did you see his face?" I said, wiping tears. _

"_He was so hilarious!" Lissa agreed. After calming down Lissa had an idea._

"_You know, when we are older, like 22 years old, I want to come back here." I looked at her like she had grown an extra head._

"_Are you serious? By then, I'm gonna be your guardian, and we will be living our lives happily ever after. Why would I come back here for? To study?" I grimaced at the thought. I never liked school subjects. Why did we need them? To teach Strigois math before killing them?_

"_That's exactly why we should come back! No no no no no, not _study_ silly Rose!" she obviously noticed my eyes that were probably twice as big as she corrected herself "I'm talking about the fact that we're going to be successful and will have made all of our dreams come true!" I looked at her puzzled._

"_I don't understand." She sighed. It looked funny to see a girl that small sigh like a grown up. I giggled silently._

"_What do all of the teachers here think about you Rose? That you're not going to be a good guardian for me. And that you will make a bad girl like yourself. If we come here after graduation, they'll see how wrong they are! And we will laugh at their shocked faces." She was beaming now and I now understood why. _

"_That's brilliant! We'll rub our perfect lives in their faces and they'll stare at us with open mouths!" I screamed and we laughed and jumped for awhile._

"_And I can piss Kirova and Stan off just to remember old times!" I exclaimed "and we're gonna see Alberta again! I bet she'll have wrinkles. But I'll still hug her even if she's gonna be old! Hahaha" _

"_Yayyyy!" Lissa shouted and raised her tiny hands. Then someone came and scolded at us for not being in our dorms. Boo._

_End of flashback._

We were planning on showing them that even though they never believed it, we had become successful in life and that we had managed to make our dreams true. Of course, with everything that happened, all of that stayed that way.

Dreams.

"There will probably be some shaking up in the next few minutes due to the problem we are dealing with the wheels. You need not be worried though. It is under control." The pilot's voice broke me out of my thoughts. It was time to face the past and hopefully, it was time to find my way back to my sister. Lissa.

True to his word, the pilot handled well the jet when we landed. The thing was that we landed on three wheels. How did we managed that, you ask yourself? We didn't. We landed crookedly. Since the back left wheel was the one with the problem, the jet leaned toward the left and put its weight on the left wing. I was certain that Paul, the pilot, would have a fit later on with the scratches.

After we all got out of it (we used those awesome puffed up slides I always secretly wanted to try out), me and Velly turned around and talked to Ozera and guardian Belikov.

"I believe you can take it from here." I said

"Your luggage have been dropped out. Someone will meet you here to take to your rooms." Veronica added.

"We hope you had a pleasant flight. Good bye." I ended. I loved it when Veronica and I completed each other. We were trained to do that and it was one of the coolest things about this job.

"Paul, will you join us?" I shouted before leaving with Velly. "Let's go and settle before you come here to fix your Sandy" Paul had named this jet 'Sandy'. Who named jets after deadly hurricanes? Whenever we would tease him about this he would just say 'This baby rips through air effortlessly and everyone stays open mouthed when they look at it. Sandy's the perfect name for this jet honey." After a while of trying to change his mind, we gave up. He was so stubborn sometimes.

"Yeah, I'm coming. I need some rest anyway." He basically crawled toward us. Poor guy, 10 hours of flying this, a heart attack from Ozera and a crippled landing and jet. He was crushed.

We went to the building with the guests' rooms and were soon after in our rooms. Each one had his own, thankfully.

I didn't look around my room. It would bring back unwanted memories. I wanted to relax before I faced the harsh reality once again. I wanted to get rid of today. So I stripped off my clothes, took a towel from the cabinet and went for a bath. I stepped in, tilted my head backwards and let the hot water relax my strained muscles.

After almost an hour, I was out and dressed with my hair dripping behind me as I walked to my bed. I didn't care. All I wanted was to lay down and let sweet, full of dreams, sleep take over me.

One thought crossed my mind before I hit the pillow and slept instantly. What's next? Nothing's too much to ask huh?

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**I know this is short but it's something right? Please review and tell me what to do to make my story better. Tell me what you think so far and your ideas on how you think this story should go..! I love to talk to my readers! It gives me strength and courage o keep going. **

**Don't forget to check this awesome greek little writer. Her name's Toniiia.! **

**Well I'm off to sleep (Jealous of rose:P) Nighty night.**


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